Distant control for tractors



F. T. @UUHT DISTANT com'mamm FOR TRACTORS Filed May L2, 1922 ,ESheet's-Sheet 1 Apr 24, 1923.. fi fl a F. T. CUURT DISTANT CONTROL FOR TRACTORS Filed May 12; 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 make andi ise the same.

"\ ieW in" perspective, view, offapparatus tor l etented Apr. 24, 19:23,

i "ll w ll liittillillil '1". COURT, 0]? "lllfihLlliIER, I OVTA.

l i i DISTAN'JD CONTROL JEOIBL JERACTOHS.

Application filed ma 12,

To all wile 1a it may (mg ":I

llejitfl' own that Y emit/l. Coun'ija citizen ol the] United States; residii'u {at l l alkeifdinthe corn of IJlllll and, ifitate of Iowa, have inve d certain new anil'use'hll tors; and I, do hereby declare the following;

to bola fulh hlear,and exact description of the lnventlon, such as will enable others ..i, i, H. skilled in the artto which it appertains to T 1 7 ii i lhis invention relates tetractors, and the ob ecto'l. the invention is to provide simple *and convenient means for controlling them at a distance at therear.

j as ftfroin yehicle or machine flnfthe operating oil tractors, more par 'ticiilarly on aiiarm, itis desirable in many cases to H sit ,or stand, oni the machine or implement draw-Why the tractor harvester, for example), so as to be able to manage "t elf, and drive the tractor thins dispensing with an easy and practicable by means ofthe apparatus hereafter tof'be described.

l The intention 's 'li'ully disclosed in the de ptijon an dfclain "following, reference being" had to the accoihjmnyinp; drawings, in

which: i "Fig. 1 is a View nr ierspeotive oi steering;

apparatus embodying my invention, as seen i from the rear, afportionot(the tronthal'li H i ,t i i i i ol: the tractor belng' shown conventionally.

Fl 2 is ai similai' View of, the steering)? lever andits connections detached. Fig. 3 is a oni alike point of shifting): gears oil a tractor, to crnitrol the sneechpartoi the rear end of the "tra-ctorbeing shown convention ally. The idea aisoshowe means for operiati H controlling the actionof the governor. ashowsa governor conventionally, and the g the,cliitch and steering gen; and :tor

attached conthlling dei ice. Fig, 5 shows in detail theimountmg of a pull-ring by means of vthlclr the piear=shiftlever is drawn 1922 Serial No. 560,508,

not shown, with actuating apparatus connecting with the steering-shaft 11 (Fig. 3). it part of this connectingaod is made use of in any apparatus, as Will he ekplained presently. The tractor is n'ovided with a cllltch-releasiiiitt lever 12, normally operable by the foot, and with a gear-shittlever lil terminating at the npper end in a 1'ing. ,ll1e rear axle of the tractor is supposed tobe mounted inithe tnbiiilar extensionsforhousings 141i: secured to each side olthe trans1nission gear-case 15. The governor 16, When one is used, is usually inonntedhneair .the front end oi the tractor at the right side, not shown in the pricipa];figures,but shown detached and tragnientarily in Fig. 4.

To operate a tractor, after the engine is started, the operator must be able to release the clutch, shift gea1s,coi1trol thesteering mechanism, an d visually regulatexthe throttle in some manner. l Vhen-thetractor is provided with a governor, this throttle control is inainly automatic, but it is still desirable to be able to control the governor itself, especially to slow down the tractor in pass-- ing; through gates, or in making: turnstat theend cl." :1 held. All of the 3 controls are made possible by my, apparatusat any desired dlstance from the tractor, which may be driven as easily a horse,arid in much the same manner. l l

a pair of braces QQand 2 bolted to it and to the tractor at Sl tan original boll being used at that point. The crank of 'tjhe steer ing-shatthas an eye formed atll, and in this 1s hooked a'short C(mneotmgwod 526,

which may be formed "lrointhe original long connecting-rod above 3 referred to by cutting it and bending *hooli at 26". 'lhenpper end of the shaftis split. and to the outwardly "bent arins 11" is "bolted a noubieemied lei er 2?; .To holesiii'r-the ends of thisle i e'naiie attachedropesifs, wisely-may eiite'nd rearhardiylo any desired distance, andby means of: which the steering-gear is controlled.

The pull on this steering-lever will some times be almost in line with the lever, as

lie

' shown in Fig. 2.. This is effective as to the end nearer the operator, but to reverse the direction at this acute angle would be diflicult, or impossible, as the pull would be from the farther end of the lever and almost in line with it. Provision is accordingly made for securing proper leverage on this farther end of the lever, regardless of its angle to the operator. The device consists of a pair of slide-rods 29, which may slide freely in pivoted eyes attached to the lever, when the pull is outward from the steering-shaft, the ropes being tied in eyes at the ends of the rods, as shown. lVhen the pull is inward, or toward the shaft, however, the movement of the rod is arrested by a in 31, and the rod projects backwardly from the lever and serves as a strut, whereby the rope is carried out from, the end of the lever, giving adequate leverage, as will be evident.

' The controlling device for the clutch-lever is very simple, consisting of an upstanding lever 32, which may be clipped to the footlever at its looped end 32 A hole at its upper end receives a pull-rope whereby the clutch may be released.

When the clutch is released it is not necessary for the governor to be in action. The clutch pull-rope may therefore be used as a medium for manipulating the governor. To the governor lever 34 is attached an auxiliary lever 35, looped at 35 to provide a simple attachment, and provided with a terminal eye 35. To this eye is connected a pull-wire 36, with an interposed coil spring 37, and the other end of the wire connects with slack in the rope A pull on the rope will thus actuate the governor before any action on the clutch-lever takes place. The spring 37 compensates for the extra pull to release the clutch.

The gear-shift lever is actuated by three ropes or cords running through holes in a guide-plate 38 secured by its supporting standard 38 to the transmission gear-case by a bolt 38*, one of the original bolts being used. The middle rope 39 is attached to the shift-lever ring, and thence is looped through an eye 40 forming part of a bracket 41 attached to the rear support of the fuel tank. The rope returns backwardly through the middle guide-hole. The bracket is best made of bendable material, pierced at the upper end to receive the threaded shank of the band 42 which binds the front end of the fuel tank in position. After the nut 12 is screwed up tightly, the bracket is bent down to final position, as shown in Fig. 5.

The gearshift lever is assumed to be in the neutral position as shown in Fig.

Converging ropes 4S and 44 connect with the shift-lever ring, and pass backwardly through the lateral guide-holes. liy holding the middle rope and pulling on either of the others the lever is shifted sidewise. Pulling on either rope alone will then draw the lever back. (on versely, a pull on the rope 39 will pull the lever forward. By a simple manipulation of the three ropes it is thus possible to shift the lever to its five cardinal positions, which in the case of this tractor are: central for neutral; left forward for reverse; left rear for low right forward for intermediate, and right rear for high.

In operating the controls all of the six ropes should be easily accessible. but need not all be grasped, simultaneously under all circumstances. Ordinarily the steering ropes may be picked up after the tractor has been started and given its proper speed by the use of the other ropes. Thereupon, such other ropes may be hung, close at hand, and only the steering ropes be held. But of course all must be accessible for instant use, if the tractor is driven at all from a station more or less remote from the tractor itself.

Having thus described my invention. I claim:

1. Tractor control apparatus operable from a distance, comprising, in combination with the front axle steering-gear, av cranked upright shaft, bearing therefor, a link connecting its crank with the steering-gear, a right-and-left cross-lever attached to the shaft, pull-ropes attached to the arms of the lever, and strut-rods connecting with said ropes some distance from the arms, the struts being slidably connected with the lever arms, but limited in their inward movement, whereby leverage may always be had on the farther arm, while the nearer one may be practically in line with its pull-rope.

2. Tractor control apparatus operable from a distance, comprising, in combination with the front axle steering-gear, a cranked upright shaft, a link connecting its crank with the steering-gear, a doublenrmed o erating lever connecting with the shaft, pullropes therefor, and upper and lower bear ings for the shaft, the upper one being held by a band encircling the tractor fuel-tank and auxiliary braces, and the lower one being bolted to the engine of the tractor. substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK T. COI RT. l l itnesses':

CHAS. H. TEMEYER, lVM. M. WILEY, Jr. 

